Computer/Technical Jargon

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TCP/IP Transmission Control Protocal/Internet Protocal. A standard on how data is transfered over a network. Data is sent in packets which contain, among other things, an address. Just about all operating systems use TCP/IP to communicate with one another, even if they they are not connected to the internet. See also IP address and subnet.

Thread: A set of instructions within a current process that operate independently of other instructions but have access to the same memory as all the other instructions of that process. Threads are executed just like a process. A program is usually put in threads to divide up the workload or to perform some important tasks during a slower thread's wait time, such as one that is waiting for the user. A word processor is an excellent example of threads in action. One thread is responsible for constantly spell-checking while another waits for keystrokes. While waiting for a keystroke, the CPU can execute hundreds of other commands faster than you can type two letters. Instead of wasting all that free time and instead of slowing down your typing, the program is put in threads. One thread spell checks, another checks your grammer, another may auto-save, and so on. Programs are not usually heavily threaded because there will not be much gain in performance past a certain amount. All that changes with multiple cores on CPU's. The overhead for switching threads usually outweighed many benefits of having lots of threads, but multiple CPU cores gets rid of a lot of that overhead.

THX: A quality-assurance specification. Created by George Lucas and Tomlinson Holman during the Return of the Jedi. The name THX comes from Lucas's film THX 1138. Higher-end audio devices, including many devices for the computer, are classifying themselves as THX certified. All you need to know is the device, theatre, or whatever must achieve a certain high-quality standard to be THX certified.

TLD: Top-Level Domain. This is .com or .net or .edu or .whatever part of an internet domain name. TLD's are managed by various companies and governments, but are defined by the IANA. Each country is has their own TLD, for instance, .us is for the United States and .uk is for the United Kingdom. Each country manages their TLD as they see fit. Some sell the rights to their TLD to other countries. There are also the generic TLD's that anybody anywhere can get. And some countries use a 2nd level TLD with their country specific TLD. For instance, it is common to .co.uk for a commercial website in the United Kingdom. For a complete list of TLD's and how they are assigned, go to IANA website for generic TLD's and country-specific TLD's.

Trojan Horse: A program that is disguised as a legitimate program, but is very harmful. The idea comes from the horse in the mythological tale by Odysseus' where the Trojans left a wooden horse for the city of Troy. Often Trojan Horses install a backdoor; however, sometimes they are just there to spy or do actions similar to viruses and worms. Trojan horses cannot replicate themselves and spread. Sometimes shortened to just Trojans.

Troll: Someone whose only goal is to start a controversy or just plain annoy everyone through message boards, chat rooms, or other places where people gather to talk on the internet. Trolls are, by defination, cowards because they must have anonymonity of the internet to hide behind. These same individuals would never have the courage to say anything face-to-face or where they may face consequences for their actions. The thing a troll hates the most is to be ignored. If the troll sees that no one is angry or trying to retaliate, they quickly fade away.

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